H.A. Baldwin Beach Park

If you’re the type that loves some rowdy, sandy bodysurfing or boogie boarding—or you have highly energetic kids—H.A. Baldwin Beach Park is the one you’ve been looking for. With a huge lawn, a lovely, long crescent of white sand, and waves that break close to the beach, it’s a great place to spend a long, leisurely afternoon. Just keep in mind that you won’t be the only one with this idea. The park tends to be extremely busy in the afternoon after the wind dies down and on the weekends. We recommend showing up early or sticking to weekdays if you’re trying to snag a bit of solitude. Even if you show up square in the middle of the day, there is almost always some quiet real estate for you to spread out.

While raucous waves characterize the middle portion of the beach, there are protected swimming areas on either end. The west end is known as Baby Beach, and the east is Baldwin Cove. As the name implies, both are shallow, sandy, calm, and great for swimming.

If the water is looking a bit cloudy, you can blame a nearby runoff—this fresh water stream dumps debris into the ocean, which tends to trigger seaweed and algae blooms. Though H.A. Baldwin Beach generally remains unaffected, you’ll definitely notice a funky smell and mucky water if you walk down east toward Lower Pa’ia Beach.

As you might have guessed, this popular beach is packed with amenities. There’s a lifeguard on duty and one covered picnic pavilion with 18 tables and a concessions kitchenette. You’ll find three uncovered picnic tables nearby and three barbecues scattered throughout. The huge field has one standard-sized soccer field along with a softball backstop and even a cricket field. When we say you could spend all day here, we mean it.